1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to position regulation members and transport apparatuses.
2. Related Art
A large-format printer, which is an example of a recording apparatus, is configured to record by removing recording paper one sheet at a time from a paper supply cassette in which the recording paper (recording medium) is held in a stacked state and send that paper to a transport apparatus, after which the recording paper is transported to a recording unit by the transport apparatus.
With a system such as this, in which recording paper is transported one sheet at a time, there is the risk that so-called “skew”, or the recording paper being sent slanted relative to the transport path, will occur. Paper jams can occur if paper is transported in a skewed state, especially when the skew is severe.
Accordingly, a recording apparatus that sets the recording medium with high precision in order to prevent the occurrence of such skew has been provided in the past (for example, see JP-A-2005-66966).
However, even if the recording medium can be set at high precision, it is extremely difficult to completely eliminate paper jams. Accordingly, with a large-format printer such as that mentioned earlier, the configuration is such that the area for transporting the recording medium is implemented as a unit so that when a paper jam has occurred, the area in which the paper jam has occurred can be easily accessed, and the medium path unit can be removed from the printer main body.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating an example of a past medium path unit configured so as to be removable as mentioned here, where FIG. 8A is a perspective view and FIG. 8B is a plan view. As shown in these diagrams, a medium path unit 60 includes a pair of shaft members 61 and 61, and the configuration is such that linking units 61a and 61a provided in the shaft members 61 and 61 so as to be able to protrude from and recede into the sides of the medium path unit 60. In other words, the pair of shaft members 61 and 61 are biased by a biasing member such as a spring (not shown) so that, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the linking units 61a and 61a protrude from the sides. Accordingly, when the medium path unit 60 is mounted in the printer main body (not shown), the linking units 61a and 61a interlock with concave portions for positioning (not shown) within the printer main body, and are thus anchored to a predetermined location within the printer main body.
On the other hand, when the medium path unit 60 mounted in the printer main body (not shown) in this manner is removed due to a paper jam or the like, tab portions 62 and 62 that are formed integrally with the pair of shaft members 61 and 61 are pushed inward by a user's fingers, moving the tab portions 62 and 62 in the direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 8B and causing the tab portions 62 and 62 to approach each other; as a result, the shaft members 61 and 61 are retracted, causing the linking units 61a and 61a to recede into the sides of the medium path unit 60. This releases the linking units 61a and 61a from their interlocked state with the concave portions, thus making it possible to remove the medium path unit 60 from the printer main body.
Incidentally, with a printer that includes the medium path unit 60, certain margins are maintained, due to manufacturing factors, for the positions of the shaft members 61 and 61 of the medium path unit 60, the positions of the concave portions for positioning, and so on, as is the case with printers in general. Accordingly, the medium path unit 60 is loose to a certain degree even when the linking units 61a and 61a of the shaft members 61 and 61 are interlocked with the concave portions and the medium path unit 60 is anchored.
This looseness may effectively cause skew to occur in the paper (medium) as a result, and is thus a factor in a drop in recording precision (printing precision).
Furthermore, with respect to the operations for removing the medium path unit 60 when a paper jam or the like has occurred, it is necessary to push the tab portions 62 and 62 together with one's fingers and pull the medium path unit 60 from the printer main body, which, being troublesome, has caused dissatisfaction.